Reading this weeks articles, I find myself relating much of the happenings of Harlem at that time to the creation and presence of modern day rap music. While the author of "Streets, Sounds and Identity in interwar Harlem" never specified whether the "sounds" of black Harlem were of music specifically, I cannot deny the overwhelming similarities to majority black rap music scene. In the article Corbould states that the sounds created in Harlem was partly for the Harlemites to claim their space as their own. There was much disdain for the black in Harlem because the "noise" they made was to control the "public sphere" even though they didn't control the land. This can be compared to the rap industry making headway into the predominantly white music industry. Some of the material covered in rap music is to this day controversial and is disdained by many. The sphere the Harlemites created in the 1920's was a form of "black self expression commonly understood to be an inherently political act." This is similar to the rap of the modern age. Debate still erupts as to whether the sound or noise is appropriate on the streets or even the social and political atmosphere. Very famous rap artist today like Lil Wayne pride themselves in being poor in the beginning and working there way up. They often share their stories of growing up on the streets which is exactly the place where the people of Harlem in the 1920's would gather to project their opinions. Any major event whether death or an appearance of celebrity brought the Harlemites out into the streets. Their loud procession was one that contained emotion and sincerity. Wright stated, " The noise they created was not just an effort to express the happiness inside; it was intended to communicate to those beyond Harlem's boundaries that they would tap those 'untold reserves of strength.'" 

In the other reading by Langston Hughes, he states that the once the trends of whites coming to the Harlem clubs and cabarets in the evenings increased, the pure black Harlem culture was watered down to suit the "tourists" preferences. As nighttime clubs and cabarets welcomed whites who sat and stared at the Harlemites as entertainment, the Harlem night life disappeared like "snow in the sun." It became "utterly commercial, planned for the downtown tourist trade, and therefore dull." Reading this I constituted a very strong connection to the rap industry today. I feel that very often the raw and sheer emotion that is delineated through rap, is watered down by the diamonds, cars and women... essentially the BLING of the industry.